The Singing Cop
by djalbvd
Summary: Steve is helping a old friend that is a country music singer, she has been arrested for a band members murder and Steve helps out


The Singing Cop

Mark is at the hospital and Steve walks in. 

"Hey Dad, what's up?"

"Steve did you see that Carly Davidson is playing at the Forum tonight?"

"I didn't know she was in town, I might just go over there to see if she's there"

" Steve how long has it been since we saw Carly?"

" It was before mom died, I think."

"When you see her tell her I said Hi"

"Dad, thanks for telling me, yeah I'll tell her"

Steve turns to leave and runs right into Jesse standing there.

"Did I hear you say that you know Carly Davidson?"

"Yeah, I grew up with her, she was like a little sister to me and Carol."

"Cool, Hey Steve do you think" Steve cuts him off knowing what he was going to ask

"Yes, I'll see if I can get some tickets." Steve leaves and goes to the forum hoping he can get a chance to see Carly.

"Mark how does he do that?"

'What's that Jesse?"

"Knowing what I am going to say before I can say it?"

"He just knows you to well.'

"Yeah, that has to be it."

Steve pulls up in front of the Forum Theater and sees the poster of Carly. The picture of Carly does not look like the Carly he knew back in high school. He remembers Carly being the nerdy type and on the heavy side, boy does she look different now. Steve goes into the theater and sees that Carly and her band are on stage rehearsing, so he just sits in the back row so he can watch with out being noticed.

Carly is singing the song by Shania Twain "No one needs to know" she has a lot of energy. She sings and just goes back and forth on the stage. Then all of a sudden she stops singing and looks over at her lead male singer, and guitarist.

"Mike, what are you doing? Your not playing in my key, you know I can't get that high."

"Carly, you're the one that is singing in the wrong key."

"OK, If we can't get this right we might as well just call it quits.'

"That's what you always want to do, nothing goes your way, you just start to pout and want to hang it all up, you don't care about any of us, just yourself." Said one of the female singers whose name is Shelly.

"Lets try it again, and this time in the right key." Carly said in a sarcastic voice

Steve sees what's going on, he can't believe that's Carly up there talking like that. She never was one to voice her opinion. Steve was going to go down to the stage but thought better of it.

Carly and her band continue to rehearse for about fifteen minutes more and Carly sees Steve sitting in the back rows of the theater. She can't believe that it's Steve. She hasn't seen him in years.

"Rehearsal over" Carly yells at the band

"Over, you got to be kidding, Carly we still have to get that one song down." one of the band members tells her

"I said its over" she turns to go up the aisle to where Steve is sitting.

"Steve, is that really you?" she looks at Steve.

"Carly, yeah it's me, what's going on up there?"

"Oh, the band and I well, we don't get along all that well"

"I can see that, How have you've been. It's been a pretty long time since I have seen you. You look pretty good," Steve says this while he is looking over Carly

"You like" She makes a pose "I'm not that nerdy little girl you used to know am I?"

"No, by all means no way."

"Are you coming tonight to the concert?"

"Well, I was asked to see if I could get some tickets."

"How many do you need, let's see one for your mother and father." Steve cuts her off

"Carly, mom died years ago." Steve says in a sad voice.

"I'm sorry Steve I didn't know."

"She died right after you left town."

"Steve"

"It's Ok"

"But you probably need two for you and your wife?"

"Nope never married, haven't found that perfect person yet"

"You have to be joking. You Mr. Football player who always had all the girls hanging all over him?"

"Yeah, me can you believe it?"

"Well, since I can't figure out who needs tickets. How many do you need?"

"Four, one each for dad and me and two for some special friends of mine"

"OK, Lets go and get them for you now" They go to the lobby and pick up the four tickets. 

"Great, well I need to go, I'll see you tonight" Steve turns to leave

"Steve, Bye!" Carly says to him as he is leaving

Carly turns and goes into her dressing room and takes her breathing machine. She has had asthma since she's been a small child but has hid it from a lot of people especially the people in the music business, she's afraid that if they find out that the venues will not let her play, so she keeps it hidden. 

"Carly" yells Mike "I need to talk to you?"

Carly finishes up and opens up her door to find Mike standing there

"What do you want now?"

"Carly we need to talk" he pauses "Now"

"I don't think so, I'm trying to get ready for tonight's concert. You can talk to me after it's over. Now leave me alone."

"Carly, You're going to ruin this band with this attitude of yours. Get off your high horse or it's going to be all over, everything that you ever dreamed of. Do you hear me?"

Carly is really getting mad, how can he be talking to her like this, she swore that no one would ever push her around again.

"Mike drop dead and leave me alone"

"Man, Carly I don't know what has happened to you, but you have lost it, I'll see you on stage."

Mike goes off and gets ready for the concert. But while they were arguing the stagehands were close by and heard everything that was said.

One stage hand to the other. "Boy that's what you call a prima donna"

"Yeah, Wants everything her way or no way at all"

"How can the band work with her"

"I don't know" and they both walk off.

Steve goes back to the hospital and looks up his father, Jesse and Amanda. 

"There you guys are. I should of known that you would be in here." Referring to the doctor's lounge. Steve pulls out the tickets and waves them in front of Jesse's face.   
"You got them" trying to reach for them "I can't believe it"

"I told you Jesse I knew her. Here's one for you too Amanda.

Steve hands her the ticket "Thanks Steve, Jesse says that she is really good, I'm not much into country. But I'll take a shot at it."

"Dad, Carly is different now, not just her appearance but her attitude, I don't know she has changed."

"Well, Steve it has been over twenty years since you seen her last, people do change."

"I don't know dad, you'll see tonight when you see her and talk to her."

"Jesse we need to get those rounds done if we want to go tonight," Mark says as he is getting up and gesturing to Jesse.

"Amanda, do you want me to pick you up or do you want to go with Jesse and Dad?"

"I'll just hitch a ride with your father, if that's OK?"

"Sure, I'll meet you, Dad and Jesse there at the theater."

"That sounds great"

Steve walks out of the Doctors lounge and leaves the hospital. He's thinking to himself about Carly and how she has changed. When she was a kid she got teased a lot because she was so smart and was on the heavy side. She didn't have many friends. The only reason why he and Carol were her friends was because his mom and her mother were best of friends and when her mother died Dad took care of her until she graduated. Carly always let people pick on her, she would never stand up for herself like today. Maybe that's where she has changed, Steve is thinking, she finally learned to stand up for herself. But today she seem to go alittle far.

Well like Dad said people do change. The little time that I spent with her today really could not tell me much of what she is like now.

Mark, Jesse and Amanda arrive at the theater and find their seats but Steve is not there yet. 

"I hope Steve makes it." Mark says, "It would be a shame if he can't see Carly sing tonight."

"Yeah, boy he would be missing something too." says Jesse "Mark have you seen Carly sing yet?"

"No, I've heard her sing, but I understand that she puts on a really good concert."

"She does, boy can she move."

"What do you mean by that? Jesse" Amanda asked him

"You'll see"

Mark is looking around to see if Steve has made it yet, just then he sees him coming in though the lobby doors.

"Steve's here"

"Good, I'm glad he could make it," says Amanda

"Amanda you're not really too excited about seeing Carly Davidson in concert are you?  
"I told you Jesse, I'm not into Country music"

"She'll change your mind, just wait"

"Steve, what took you so long, I didn't think that you were going to make it?" Mark says to Steve as Steve is getting into his seat.

"Dad, I almost didn't make it. I was assigned to a stake out. But I traded with Larry, but as soon as the concert is over I have to leave. I won't be able to go back stage with you guys to see Carly."

"Ah, that's a shame, she'll be upset that you couldn't make it."

"Shh, The concert is about to start" Jesse tells them

Amanda just looks at Jesse and can't believe how excited he is to be here.

Carly is in her dressing room doing her breathing machine before going on stage. It's a routine she does before and after each concert. She uses so much energy up that she has a hard time breathing during and after her concerts.

The band members are coming on to the stage and start warming up their instruments. After a couple of minutes Carly comes out to a big applause.

"Thank you and lets get kicking!"

Carly starts out the concert with Shania Twains hit "No One Need To Know" and she is moving all over the place. Amanda looks at Jesse and says

"Is this what you meant by how she moves?"

"Yeah, isn't she cool, look at her move."

Mark has this look on his face, like he can't believe his eyes.

"How does she do that?" meaning the way she moves her body and sings at the same time.

"Dad" Steve says to his father.

Carly goes into another song this song is from Wynonna "When Love Starts Talkin"

The next song she sings is "Somewhere in My Broken Heart" by Billy Dean

And now its time for her lead male singer to sing "Love Me" from Collin Raye

Her last song is "I said a Prayer" from Pam Tillis

She says her Thank yous to the audience and goes off the stage and heads back to her dressing room to do her breathing machine.

"Man, is she good or what?" Jesse says to everyone.

"She sure can move" answered Mark. 

"Amanda, well did she change your mind about Country music?" asked Jesse

"Well, she's good but I'm still not that much of a Country music fan"

"Your crazy, Steve what did you think?" Jesse asked.

Steve is just sitting there. "All I can say is that I knew she had it in her all the time."

Steve gets up and turns to his father "Dad, I have to go, tell Carly that I thought she was great"

Steve gets up and leaves and Mark, Jesse and Amanda work their way back stage. While they are doing this Carly gets finished and gets up and decides to go and thank Mike for being so good tonight. She goes into his dressing room and finds him lying on the floor. She goes over to him and puts her hands on his back and shakes him.

"Mike, what's wrong, get up"

She lifts her hands up and looks at them and sees blood all over them. She starts to scream and Amanda, Mark and Jesse hear her. They come running down the hall to the scream. Mark sees Carly screaming and sitting in a chair with blood all over her hands and staring out into space.

"Carly! What happened here?" Mark is with Carly "Carly your hands"

Mark tells Amanda to look after her as he goes over to Mike's body. 

"He's dead Amanda"

"Jesse, come here, look after her while I go over and help Mark"

Jesse sees that Carly is having trouble breathing and he goes over to her.

"Ms. Davidson, your having trouble breathing?"

"She shakes her head yes, at him"

"Mark, Mark over here, she's breathing hard" Jesse yells at Mark

"Jesse, she has asthma, call an ambulance for her she needs medical attention now."

Just then a Detective Valdez comes in and sees Carly and the blood on her hands. 

"Ms Davidson, are you OK?" asked the Detective

Mark sees Det. Valdez and goes over to him. Mark knows that Det. Valdez and Steve are not that good of friends or co-workers he's afraid that if he finds out that Steve knows Carly that he will treat her badly.

"Hello, Detective" 

"Dr. Sloan, now tell me just what are you doing here?"

"I was at the concert, is there a problem with that?"

"You, at this concert, I guess you are a country fan?"

"You can say that"

Jesse comes over to Mark "Mark the ambulance is here"

"Good, I'll go with her"

"Wait one minute, just where do you think you are going with her?" asked the Det.

"To the hospital, she's having an asthma attack and needs treatment right away."

"If I'm not wrong the ambulance can treat her on the scene?"

"Yes, you are right, but" Mark gets cut off by the Det.

"She's not going any where, she's under arrest for the murder of Mike Miles."

Jesse blurts out "What, you don't even know what happened yet!"

"There's blood all over her hands, it looks like she's quilty to me"

"Mark, I didn't kill him, I'm telling you the truth"

"Carly, I'll go with you to the station"

"Steve" Carly says in a worried voice

"I'll try to find Steve" Jesse said

The Detective takes Carly and puts her into a squad car. "Take her to the station and book her"

Mark goes and gets his car and goes to the station to be with Carly.

Jesse goes off to find Steve. And Amanda goes with the body to the morgue.

Jesse finds this Larry that Steve traded with to go to the concert. 

"Larry, hi, I don't know if you remember me, I work with Dr. Mark Sloan, Steve's father?"

"Yeah, I remember you, what's up?"

"You traded some time with Steve so he could go to his friend's concert tonight, is that right?"

Yeah, I still don't understand"

"I guess what I am trying to get at is do you know where he is tonight?"

"Yeah, I do, he's on a stake out. Why?"

"Carly Davidson his friend that he went to go see tonight, she was arrested for a murder that happened at the theater"

"Carly Davidson the country singer?"

"Yeah, I really think Steve would want to be there for her, do you think?" Larry cuts him off

"You want me to go and take over for Steve so he can go to the station and help this singer out"

"You said it not me"

"OK, but you tell Steve that he owes me big time"

"Sure, and hey man thanks"

"No problem"

Larry leaves to go and tell Steve what has happened and to take over for him. He reaches Steve's car and taps on the window. Steve turns around with his gun drawn. 

"Man, I could of shot you" said Steve

"Sorry, You're needed back at the station"

"Why, what's going on that I'm needed so badly?'

"It's that friend of yours Carly Davidson"

"Carly Davidson, what happened to her?"

"She's been arrested for the murder of her male singer, I'll take over for you, anything going on that I should know about?"

"No, it's been pretty quiet. Larry, thanks"

"No problem, go and take care of your friend"

Steve turns the keys to the car and starts the engine and leaves for the station. He arrives and sees his father. "Dad, what's going on and where's Carly?"

"Good I'm glad that Jesse was able to find you, Carly she's in lock up. Det. Valdez was the arresting officer."

"That's just great. Does he know that I know Carly?"

"Not yet"

"I do now, Sloan you can't help her." Det. Valdez said

"Steve, he arrested her before there was any investigation done." Mark told Steve

"Valdez, why do you have to jump the gun all the time?"

" There were two stage hands that over heard a fight between the two and heard her say drop dead, and then all the blood on her hands, that makes her quilty."

"Let me see her?"

"Sure, she's in lockup"

Steve goes to lock up and sees Carly sitting in a jail cell. He can't stand seeing her in there. 

"Open up the door I need in there?" Steve asked the guard

"Carly" Steve says quietly to her. Carly sees Steve standing outside the cell waiting to get into see her. She stands up. "Steve"

"Carly" As he is walking into the cell. "They have an eye witness that heard you and Mike arguing and you telling him to drop dead?"

"Steve, I didn't kill him. You do believe me don't you?"

Carly, You have changed a lot, I'm not sure your the same person that I knew all those years ago. I also saw you arguing with Mike, remember at the rehearsal?"

"Steve, you can't think that I could do something like this?"

"Carly, I don't know, how I feel right now"

"I need to get out of here, Steve I can't stay in here, I'll go nuts, and I have other concerts to do"

"Carly, how can you think of your concerts after what happened"

"It's my life, I have to keep doing it"

"I'll see what I can do to get you released"

Steve goes over to the guard to have him open up the doors of the cell. Steve turns around with a look of concern for Carly. 

Steve goes into the squad room and sees that his father is still there.

"Dad, what are you still doing here?"

"I wanted to see how Carly is doing, Steve you know she's like my own daughter?"

"Dad, It doesn't look good. The evidence that Valdez has on her makes her look pretty quilty"

"Steve, you don't believe that she did this, do you?"

"Dad" Steve looks at his father with a questionable look "I'm going to try to find out if I can her released into my custody and we can go from there."

"Steve, thanks"

"No problem Dad, I just hope that you are right about her." Steve starts to walk off than turns back to his father "Dad, can you believe she still wants to go on tomorrow night? How can she do that, even if she does she doesn't have a male singer now?" Steve sees this look in his father face "What?' Steve asks is father

"Nothing" Mark answers back

"Nothing, there is never nothing going on in that brain of yours, what are you thinking about now?"

"You used to sing with Carly in High School choir, didn't you?"

"No, No I'm not going to sing with Carly. Besides I'm not that good of a singer."

"Yes you are, you just don't do it enough"

"Dad, forget it"

Steve gets Carly released into his custody and takes her to the beach house. Mark is there waiting for them. 

"Carly" Mark goes up to put his arms around her

"Mark, I didn't kill him"

"I know you didn't. Steve and I have a plan to help prove your innocence"

"Steve and I have a plan, Its not my plan its Dad's he gets all the credit"

"So what's the plan?" Carly asked

Amanda and Jesse come crashing in through the deck doors 

"Amanda, country music its where its at, no one listens to that classical stuff anymore"

"Jesse I'll listen to what I want to listen to and you listen to what you want to lesson to"

Amanda turns around and sees Carly. "Sorry Carly."

"That's OK, I like classical music also, its very soothing"

"See" Amanda looks a Jesse

"Carly, I don't think that I formally introduced you to these two guys?" Mark tells her

"Carly, this is Dr. Amanda Bently and Dr. Jesse Travis. They are very good friends and colleges of mine" Mark continues

"Mark what's this plan that you and Steve have to prove my innocence?" Carly asks Mark

"Carly, I told you that this is Dad's plan not mine"

"Well, Carly Steve says that you want to go on Stage tonight?"

"Yes I do, Its my life I can't let something this terrible bring me down. Someone out there is framing me and I am not going to let them take my life from me"

"Well, this is what I have in mind, Steve and you used to sing together in high school choir, so Steve joins the group to be your new lead male singer."

"Carly, I told dad that I can't sing." Steve tells her "Besides I have stage fright"

"Mark that's a good idea Steve's a great singer, I always thought maybe he could do something with that voice of his?"

"Steve can sing? That's news to me?" Jesse blurts out

"I've heard him hum around sometimes, he can keep a tune" says Amanda.

"No, No, I can't do this, even if I could sing, I can't get up on stage. My stage fright, makes me freeze, there's no way, just no way"

"Steve, please for me, I need you?" Carly goes over to him and looks up at him with her big sad blue eyes. She used to do this to him when she was a kid and he could never tell her no.

"Carly don't that's not fair" Steve says trying not to look at Carly

"He'll do it" Marks says

"How do you know?" Jesse asked

"It's the look, he could never tell her no when she did that to him" Mark answered him back

"OK, you did it to me again. Well that part of you didn't change. I swear Carly, you do know how to get to me"

"Then we need to get to the theater and do some rehearsing." She grabs Steve's hand and starts to drag him out the front door. "I knew you wouldn't let me down"

"You did, did you?"

Jesse and Amanda look at Mark and Amanda says to him "Mark, was there anything between those two?"

"No, she was more like a sister to him"

"I don't think that's how he thinks of her now," Jesse said

"You see it too," said Amanda

"Yeah" Jesse answers back

"Well you know I thought that she always had a thing for Steve, but he never showed her any attention. When he was with her the guys on the football team always teased him about her, not too many people liked her back in high school."

"Wow!" said Jesse

Carly calls the band members to meet her at the theater and tells them that she has a new lead male singer and that they are going on tonight and to meet her at the theater to do some rehearsal. 

They all arrive at the theater and they are waiting for Carly and this mysterious male singer that she has. They are all on stage discussing what happened

"I can't believe that she wants to go on after what happened last night!" said Shelly

"I give her credit for doing this, it takes a lot of guts" said another band member.

"I'm just wondering who this guy is that she has?" a band member said.

"I still can't believe that the police would let her out of jail!" said Shelly.

"You thought that this might be your big chance didn't you Shelly?" 

"Well I did think that maybe tonight I could actually do some of the singing" 

"Sometimes the breaks just don't come your way," a band member said.

Steve and Carly arrive at the theater and she introduces him to them.

"Guys this is Steve Sloan, he's an old friend that's going to help us out for the rest of the concert"

"Yeah, but can he sing?" asked a band member

"He used to be able to, I think the biggest thing we have to worry about is his stage fright. He's got it bad"

"Oh, that's just great, a lead singer who can't stand in front of people!" says Shelly

Steve is just standing there while Carly is talking about him. He still can't believe that he's doing this. How does his father talk him into things like this? One of these days he'll figure it out.

"OK, Steve, Mike always sang a Collin Raye hit "Love Me" do you know that one?" asked Carly

"I'm not sure, can you play it for me and I'll see if I remember it?"

"Yeah, guys"

The band starts playing the song and Carly sees a little recognition in Steve's eyes.

"Do you remember it?"

Yeah, I do, but do you have some sheet music for it?"

"Sure, Shelly where's that sheet music for all the songs that we perform?" asked Carly

"It's in my dressing room, I'll go get it"

"Great, thanks"

Shelly heads back stage and to her dressing room, and sees Carly's dressing room she opens the door to it and sees Carly's breathing machine. She hesitates but decides this is the only way to do it. She goes over to it and sees the medicine that Carly uses, it's in very small bottles that she pours into the breathing part of this machine. She grabs a couple of them and sticks them into her pocket. She goes back out and to her dressing room and gets the sheet music.

"Here they are" she hands them to Steve "Now lets see if you are as good as Carly says that you are?"

Steve gets the sheet music from her "OK, I guess it's now or never"

"Are you ready Steve?" Carly asked him

"Yeah"

So the group starts to play the song again from Collin Raye. Steve starts to sing it and everyone in the band even Shelly looks at him with amazement.

"Yes, I knew you could do it!" Carly yells at Steve while he is singing. She joins Steve in singing and the band just can't believe how good they sound together. They think that this guy is even better than Mike. They keep on practicing the songs that they do at the concert. The concert is only three hours away. After they get finished with the rehearsal. Carly tells Steve

"You still have it. Why didn't you ever do anything with that voice of yours?"

"It's my stage fright, I still don't know how I am going to go on tonight without making myself look like a fool?"

"Steve when we go out tonight just look at me. Just think that I am the only one that is there with you. And just don't look out to the audience until you feel like you can handle it."

"But what happens if I can't handle it at all tonight, am I supposed to look at you all night?"

"Steve you can look at me all you want"

With that they went their separate ways. Steve went to the hospital to see his father and Carly went into her dressing room.

Mark is with Jesse and Amanda and he sees Steve coming down the hallway of the hospital.

"There's the singing cop"

Steve hears this and shakes his head at his father and goes up to him and says "How do you get me into these things?"

"You love your dear old Dad, you just can't say no to me, just like you couldn't say no to Carly when she came over to you and batted her big baby blue eyes at you." Mark said with a laugh

"Steve, you're just going to have to learn how to say NO," said Amanda

"OH, man Steve your so lucky, singing with Carly Davidson that's a dream come true" Jesse said with envy in his voice

"You can do it," said Steve

"No way, Steve if Jesse sings there could be more killings" Amanda laughs

"Thanks Amanda" said Jesse

Back at the theater Carly leaves her dressing room to go and get something cold to drink. Shelly sees that this is the chance that she has been waiting for. She goes into Carly's dressing room and replaces the medicine bottles that she took earlier. She empties them out and just puts water in them, knowing that the medicine is mixed with water and that there is no taste or smell to it. When Carly takes her breathing medicine she will not know that she's not getting any of her medicine. Shelly hurries out of the dressing room and back to hers. There is only about thirty minutes before show time and she knows Carly will be back to take her breathing excerises.

Carly comes back from getting her cold drink and sets the machine up for her breathing excerises. She starts the machine and starts breathing in the medicine or at least thinks that she is. Steve arrives and knocks on her dressing room door. She finishes with the medicine and gets up and opens the door. She opens it up to see Steve just standing there and she just stares at him. 

"What! Do I have something stuck in my teeth or something?"

"No, boy you look gorgeous dressed up in all that cowboy garb"

"I didn't go overboard did I?"

"No way, The girls in the audience are going to go nuts"

Steve smiles with a little mischievous look. "This could be fun after all"

"It's time to go, come on" she grabs his hand and tries to get him to come and he just stands there frozen. "Steve remember what I told you just look at me and it will be OK"

They both go out onto the stage and the band starts playing No One needs to Know. And Carly starts singing and Steve is just looking at her and starts singing with her. Carly in her usual manner is going all over the stage. Steve is trying to keep his eye on her than all of a sudden sees the audience and starts to freeze. Carly sees this and goes over to him and starts to dance with him while she is singing. Her next song is when Love Starts Talkin. When she sings this she is looking at Steve most of the time and singing it to him, Then all of a sudden because of all the dancing and singing that she does, she gets out of breath. She doesn't understand how this could happen. When she takes her breathing excerises before the concerts this usually never happens. She is getting really dizzy and she almost falls but catches herself. Steve sees this and goes over to her and puts a hand on her arm. He looks at her with a concerned look. It's time for Steve to sing his song. He starts singing and she joins in.

Mark, Jesse and Amanda can't believe that this is really Steve singing.

"That's my boy!" Marks says

"Mark he can sing!" Amanda exclaims

"Boy, look at Carly" Jesse says, Mark and Amanda look at him with those looks of theirs

Just as Steve gets done with his song Carly passes out on stage. 

"Dad!" Steve yells down at his dad

Jesse, Amanda and Mark go running up to the stage.

"Dad, what's wrong with her?"

"Carly, it's Mark, can you hear me?"

"Can't breathe"

"Jesse!" Mark is about to ask Jesse to call an ambulance 

"Mark, its done the ambulance is on the way"

Jesse and Steve take Carly to her dressing room and Shelly and the rest of the band continue the concert.

"Dad, she's got one of those breathing machines, will that help?" Steve says as he is looking at Carly with a lot of concern.

"Yes, it will, where is it?" Mark asked.

Steve and Jesse look around the dressing room Steve sees it and brings it to his dad.

"Here it is, Dad"

Mark takes one of the bottles and opens it up and just stops. Steve sees his father's hesitation and says "Dad, what's stopping you, give her the medicine?"

"Steve, this bottle has been tampered with" Mark looks at Amanda "Amanda come here, look at this the seal it's been broken, Steve when was the last time that she took this medicine?"

"She took it right before going on. I got here right when she finished, Dad what's wrong?"

"Steve, I think that someone tampered with her medicine and she didn't get any of it."

"Mark!" Jesse yells at him. "Carly is going into respiratory arrest"

"Dad, you have to do something?" Steve's telling his father. 

Mark hands the bottles to Amanda and asks her to take them to the hospital and have them analyzed. She gets them from Mark and says, "Sure Mark, the ambulance is here now"

The EMT's give Carly a breathing excerise, she can hardly breathe in any of the medicine.

Mark tells the EMT's to get to the hospital fast.

Mark looks over at his son "Steve, I'm going with her to the hospital."

"Dad, don't let anything happen to her. Please" Steve told his father. Mark looks at him thinking about what Amanda had said earlier that there is something going on between the two of them.

"I'll meet you there," Steve said. Jesse looks at Steve "Man, I'll take you, come on"

Mark gets Carly to the hospital so they can give her some more treatments and some oxygen. She is now stable. Jesse gets Steve to the hospital and they come rushing into the emergency room. Steve looks for his dad. He can't find him. Jesse sees that he is concerned so he tells Steve that he will find him.

"Thanks Jesse" 

"No problem Steve" Jesse goes off to find Mark. Amanda sees Steve standing there. She just got the results back on the bottles of medicine. "Steve" she goes up to him and puts her hand on his arm.

"Amanda, do you have the results back?"

"Yes I do, Steve they were tampered with. All that was in that bottle that your father opened up was water."

"What! Water how" Steve said in concern

"It looks like someone wanted Carly to have problems breathing"

Jesse comes up to the two of them and hears what Amanda just said to Steve "Do you think that it could be the same person who killed Mike that's trying to get Carly out of the way too? Oh Steve your father will be right out."

"Hows Carly?" Mark hears his son ask Jesse, Mark goes up to Steve "Steve shes going to be OK. We got her here on time" Mark sees Amanda "Amanda the bottles?"

"Mark, they were tampered with. There was just water in them"

"Steve, I know you don't like this Detective Valdez but I think that he needs to know about this"

"Yeah, I'll give him a call right after I see Carly, can I go in and see her now?"

"Yes, but shes kind of drowsy."

Steve goes into see Carly and she's just laying there with tears coming down her eyes. Steve walks over to her and wipes the tears off of her cheeks.

"Hi, Carly I thought that I was going to lose you before I could tell you how I feel."

Carly just looks up at him and smiles and trys to say something through the oxygen mask.

"Steve, what do you mean"

"Carly, I always felt something for you even back in high school, I'm sorry that I let peer pressure get to me. What I am trying to say is that I love you. Thinking that you almost died made be realize this"

Carly just looks at Steve and starts to cry again "Steve, I love you, I always have."

Steve leans down and kisses her forehead and tells her that everything will be find and he will find out who did this to her. She smiles back and him and closes her eyes to go to sleep.

Steve goes back out to his father.

"I called Valdez from Carly's room he'll meet us at the theater."

"Jesse and Amanda?" Steve was about to ask them a question but Jesse cuts him off

"Don't worry about her Steve, we'll be here if she needs us" 

"Thanks you guys"

Steve and Mark meet Valdez at the theater and discuss their ideas on what is happening.

Of course Valdez doesn't believe Steve. He has his own theories on this.

They are talking to all the band members and the stagehands and each and every person that was in the theater before the concert. They found out that Shelly was missing for about ten minutes. So Steve goes and talks to her.

"Shelly" He goes up to her

"Steve" She looks at him and ask "Hows Carly doing?"

"Shes going to be OK, I need to ask you a couple of questions?"

"Why you, your not a police officer?"

"Guess again" Steve pulls out his badge "Lieutenant Steve Sloan, now for those questions, Where were you yesterday about thirty minutes before the concert?'

"I was in my dressing room"

"Guess again, one of the stage hands went to your dressing room to give you your new headset but you weren't there."

She tries to run but Steve grabs her arm and stops her.

"Why, Shelly?"

"Carly didn't deserve to have what she had. How can some one with the attitude she has do as good as she did, I'm a better singer than she is, she would never give me a chance."

Mark and Valdez walk up while she is telling Steve everything.

"What about Mike?" Valdez asks.

"He was going to tell Carly that I knew about her asthma and was going to tell the newspapers that she was sick"

"But Shelly, people with asthma can lead a healthy life" Mark said to her.

"I know that but for some reason she didn't want anyone to know. She was afraid that no one would book someone that could keel over at any time" she says this as Valdez is cuffing her

"I just wanted my chance, if she just would of let me sing, but she only thought about herself and no one else. I just had to put her in her place."

"Get her out of here Valdez" Steve said. 

"Thanks Steve" Valdez tells Steve as he is taking Shelly away.

"Dad, all this happened just because she wanted to sing the lead, How can someone be so determined to do something.'

As all this was going on at the theater Jesse and Amanda go in and talk to Carly. She is doing much better and wants to leave the hospital. 

"Just where do you think you are going?" Amanda says to her

"I'm going to the theater I have to rehearse for tomorrow nights concert. It's the final one and I have to be prepared."

"You, can't do that" Jesse goes up to her and tries to get her back into bed.

"Try and stop me"

"Amanda if she is that determined, maybe we should let her go only if she lets us tag along with her" said Jesse

"Jesse, Mark will kill us"

"We can't stop her, she can leave on her on. Do we have a deal Carly?"

"Yeah, we do, Lets go"

They arrive at the theater and Steve and Mark are talking and Veldez is taking Shelly off in handcuffs.

Carly goes over to Steve and puts her arms around his waist. Steve leans down and kisses her.

"What are you doing here?"

"We couldn't stop her Steve, she was determined to be here" Jesse said.

"Steve I heard what you said to your father, on how can someone be so determined that they could do something like this, its easy, I didn't go so far as to kill anyone but I did kill any relationships that I had. I was bound and determined that no one was ever going to laugh at me again and because of this I ended up with this attitude that kept everyone away from me. But you and your father and your friends showed me these last couple of days that I don't have to be that way. It will be hard to change but I will. With you by my side, I know that anything is possible"

Steve reaches down and gets a hold of both of her hands and says to her "I love you"

"I told you, I told you that there was something there Mark" Amanda says.

"You were right, look at the two of them. I think we need to leave the two of them alone" Mark said

"But what about the concert?" Jesse blurts out

Mark grabs one arm and Amanda grabs the other one and leads him out of the theater. Steve and Carly just keep on kissing.

Steve is doing the last concert before Carly and the band go out on tour. But just before the concert Steve corners Carly in her dressing room and asks her to marry him and he puts a big beautiful diamond on her finger. And of course she excepts his proposal.

They both walk out onto the stage together hand in hand. Amanda, Jesse and Mark are once again out in the audience. Carly and Steve smile at his father and their friends.

The band starts up and Carly starts singing. Once again she's all over the stage and smiling at every chance that she has to at Steve. After the first couple of songs she tells everyone thank you for standing by her during this time in her life and tells everyone about her asthma and lets everyone who may have asthma not to be ashamed of it. Just live your life the best that you can and have fun doing it. She also tells the audience that she has written a song about how her attitude lost all of her friends and that attitude will no longer be part of her life and that she hopes everyone will like the song. The name of the song is "Standing Knee Deep in Water (Dying of Thirst). She starts singing the song and she gets a standing ovation. Tears start running down her cheeks but she keeps singing. She finishes the song and once again thanks everyone and then gives a special thanks to Jesse and Amanda and another one to Mark. Now its time for her last song of the night she sings "Two sparrows in a Hurricane" When the part comes up that says that she has his ring. She points to her ring that Steve had given her just before the concert. 

"Mark, Did you see what I saw?" Amanda just asked.

"Yeah, I did, I think my boy just asked Carly to marry him"

"Its about time" Amanda answers him back.

"Man, that means she's not single any longer.'

Both Mark and Amanda look at him and say at the same time "Jesse"


End file.
